


Distance makes the heart grow fonder

by moondancerfay



Category: GOT7, MarkBum - Fandom
Genre: Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Markbeom2020, Markbum Ficfest 2020, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 08:00:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27669898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moondancerfay/pseuds/moondancerfay
Summary: Mark and Jaebum have a long distance relationship since the day Mark had to go back to California to finish his studies.Their relationship only developed very slowly when they were both in Seoul because JB still had a lot of internalized homophobia to work through. But, he managed and even came out to his best friend Jinyoung, who became also good friends with Mark.Since Mark was in his final year, they both knew that it was just one year until his graduation and then he was free to go and live wherever he wanted and Jaebum still hoped he would choose to be with him and live in Seoul.
Relationships: Im Jaebum | JB/Mark Tuan
Kudos: 24
Collections: Markbeom fic fest 2020





	Distance makes the heart grow fonder

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kiyono](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiyono/gifts).



Mark’s flight was called. He put his backpack onto his shoulder and straightened his back. The long fingers around his passport were clammy and cold. He hated it, he hated to leave JB, but he knew from the day they kissed that their time together was limited. He had to go back to the States and finish his degree and Jaebum had to continue his work as a composer in Seoul. JB reached out to grab his hand and Mark had to smile. The other was still embarrassed and shy to show his affection in public. They were in Korea and for sure, it wasn’t as easy as in LA to see two guys being more than just friends. JB shifted his weight from one foot to the other and avoided to look Mark into the eyes. To have a male partner was still so new to him, even though they could spend months together. JB was a romantic at heart and that was one thing Mark loved dearly about him. He reached into his pocket and put a light green envelope into Marks hand. When he leaned forward to place a chaste kiss on Mark’s porcelain cheek, Mark closed his eyes and tried to remember every detail about the younger. His scent, his soft lips, the even skin of his strong hand he held over the letter. When JB leaned back again, Mark still kept his eyes closed. He feared that he had to face reality when he opened his eyes again, a harsh, cold and empty reality – a reality without his lover. He could feel JB’s hand cup his cheek and when he finally opened his eyes he stared directly into the beautiful dark orbs of JB and his eyes filled with tears. “Please… don’t.” JB tried to not make it too sad for both, but Mark was a very emotional person and it was hard for him to imagine living so far away from the person he loved so dearly. His heart belonged with JB. Mark didn’t give a damn and leaned in. He wanted to be as brave as JB when he kissed him for the first time, on Christmas eve last year. JB held his breath, but didn’t shove the elder away. Mark savored the kiss and then just let himself be hugged by the muscular frame of the other. After the next call of his flight to LAX, he let go of JB and whispered “I love you.” Into his ear, which was whispered back right away by JB whose face was now all red because of their intimacy in the middle of a crowded airport gate. It was time to go. They waved each other goodbye until Mark was distracted by the guard at the security check. While he placed his belongings into the plastic baskets, he thought about their future. It was clear for him that whatever came now was not the end of their relationship, but the beginning of something that would proof that they belonged together. Over the long distance their hearts would still be together.

***

Two months later Mark was back in his old university rhythm, meeting up with his old friends and working hard to get all assignments done in time. He only had one year left and he really had profited from his year in Korea. He learned to love Seoul and every now and then he thought back what he missed apart from the person who owned his heart. They kept in touch nearly every day and they video chatted usually on the weekends, but due to the huge time difference, it was pretty hard, especially because JB had to keep his stable job which required regular office hours. It was very difficult to manage a video call, but even that they were able to do every once in a while when their desire to see each other was overwhelming. Mark also kept in touch with the cute barista Yugyeom and was not even surprised that the tall, handsome boy also found his right match, but their story was a very complicated, heartbreaking one that required lots of secrecy. Yugyeom suffered a lot and would deserve so much better in his opinion. Nevertheless, the younger loved the other boy with all he had, so who was Mark to judge a guy he hadn’t even met yet? He just wished Yugyeom to be fine and happy. Mark made sure that JB and his best friend Jinyoung were good brothers to him. Since Jinyoung was also in the entertainment business, he understood Yugyeom’s sorrows.

***

Five months later JB hit it big with an incredible offer to participate in an art project with his lyrics and Mark was super proud of his boyfriend. The only downside was that JB was very busy and his finals week was ahead. This meant that they were only able to text each other every now and then. When Mark was not studying, he was sleeping or eating, so he felt really guilty that uni took all his time and he was not able to express what was going on in his life to JB. On the other side of the world, JB was as busy with fulfilling his contract, creating installations, providing suitable lyrics and working together with the photographers. When he wasn’t working, he was sleeping or drinking with his colleagues, something that is considered normal in Korea as it contributes to team building. Mark and JB missed each other dreadfully, but days passed before they texted back or sent a voice message, rarely a photo or video clip. 

Mark, next to his studies, was eagerly writing internship applications that he was able to earn a bit of money throughout the summer semester break. He felt sad that he was not able to visit JB in Seoul, but his priority was now to finish his studies and earn a bit of money to have a good start in Korea. He didn’t want to tell JB yet, but his mind was set on living with the artist in Seoul. Whatever this would take, he needed to be with him, even if this meant to wait for him another 7 months.

When JB was done with his special project and got paid, he decided that he wanted to surprise Mark and booked a plane ticket to LA. With the help of Mark’s older sister who was an English teacher and spoke some Korean too, he made sure that it was the right time. She also communicated with Mark’s friends in secret to arrange at least 2 weeks during summer vacation for them to spend some time alone. 

So by the end of the hot Californian summer, JB got off the plane and was greeted by Mark’s sister at the airport. They would surprise Mark when got off work in the evening. Tammy and JB instantly liked each other and the Korean was surprised that she had two daughters with her, because she still looked so young. For JB it was mind-blowing that he was accepted as boyfriend by Mark’s family. He learned over the visit in LA that family and love meant so much more than gender and it was overwhelming for him in so many ways.

They set up the surprise for them to be alone in the house, because they all respected their privacy. Mark would tell them later anyway how he felt and how his reaction was. So when Mark entered the living room and JB sat on the worn couch, he dropped his bag and just stared. Silence. In the distant a car was heard. Mark shook his head. Was this an illusion? Oh what a good dream. JB stood up and walk towards him. As soon as he came into reach, Mark smelled the others aftershave. Only then he was brave enough to reach out. The soft fabric of JBs black dress shirt was comforting and real. He could feel the others familiar chest muscles and when he looked into JBs smiling face, he lost it. The younger readily closed his strong arms around Mark’s thin frame and hugged him tight. He was all he ever needed and it was too good to be true for himself that Mark was finally in his arms again. Mark’s emotion drenched his shoulder, but he wouldn’t like to have it otherwise. When he slightly parted them, Mark brushed JBs longer locks out of his eyes. “I must be dreaming,” he said. JBs answer was a kiss full of desire. 

***

In the end it didn’t turn out to be what JB expected it to be, because Mark was busy with his internship most of the time and he spent many hours alone or sometimes with Mark’s family. He used the time to look around LA, to study English and work on his own projects for his job, well as best as he could. Time flew by way too quickly. They only had 2 full days of the weekend together and Mark made sure that they had enough privacy by renting a small house at the seaside. These two days were the most beautiful JB had ever spent with Mark. They enjoyed the scenery, good food, being lazy and each other. Needless to say, Mark was totally done Monday morning when he showed up at the office of his internship company. Because of the cheaper flight tickets, JB returned home on a Thursday, but Mark could at least see him off in the evening. This time he didn’t cry, because he knew that they were only apart for another half year. They avoided talking about what will come after Mark’s graduation. Time was too precious for them to be wasted on negativity and future decisions. So with a heavy heart, JB boarded the plane, this time with a letter of Mark in his hand. The songwriter wasn’t an overly sentimental person, but when he read the lines during the take-off that Mark wrote with all his heart – JB could feel it in the wording – salty droplets made their way over his cheeks. 

***

So when JB was back in Seoul and he met up with Jinyoung, the younger asked about how LA and the US were and even before answering, it was clear for the Korean that living with Mark in the US was not possible for him. Yes, he loved the Californian dearly, but he couldn’t manage to live with him in LA. The States were so different to what he was used to and he would feel very isolated and probably couldn’t even carry out his job. He liked his company and what he did so much, he wouldn’t be able to do this there. Also, he didn’t know any other languages apart from Korean, a bit of Japanese and even less English through school. Through Mark he became very eager to learn more English, but because Mark’s Korean was very good, they could easily converse in Korean. JB made the promise to learn much better English to himself when Mark left. He tried to take professional English language classes and looked for native speakers to practice, but it was quite difficult with his work schedule and in the end, he couldn’t improve as much as he wanted. Luckily, Jinyoung was quite good in English, so he helped him out many times.

As JB stayed silent for only a hesitating moment, Jinyoung sensed what was going on in JBs head. There was no way in lying to Jinyoung, the younger knew him so well. They talked for hours and JB felt better after getting all his sorrows off his chest. Jinyoung was a very good listener and he understood how important living in Seoul was to JB. He had all his friends and family here and a job he pursued so hard to get. Though, he had high hopes that Mark would make the move and be with the Korean, since he was more independent and already experienced life in Korea. He liked Korean food, Korean fashion and his Korean skills were great. There were less hurdles for the Californian and since his studies were also related to Korean entertainment, he could easily find a job in Seoul. Through him and Yugyeom’s boyfriend, they could also try to let him meet the right people in the business and Mark could as well easily model for a start. When Jinyoung observed JB over his glass of wine, he thought to himself with a ping in his own heart, how lucky the older was to meet someone like Mark. The younger was not only breathtakingly beautiful, he was also extremely smart, kind and well-behaved. The ends of his lips turned into a sly smile and his eye whiskers wrinkled by smiling like a fool. No, he was not drunk, just very happy for his friend. JB encountered his friend smiling like Alice’s Cheshire Cat and shot him a weird look, so Jinyoung raised his glass in an exaggerated way “To Im Jaebum, the luckiest man alive!” With one sip he emptied the remaining wine and continued to grin. He was genuinely happy for his friend, though, the mess of his own love life that made his stomach heavy, let him refill his glass in a wink and they continued drinking. 

***

Autumn in Korea was one of the most beautiful times of the year and JB made sure that he sent Mark many pictures of the colorful trees. Mark was about to finish his final semester and he was busy writing his thesis. Because JB was not as busy, he acknowledged that he had to put more effort into their long distance relationship right now and do his best to encourage the older. They still haven’t spoken about the future and he was scared that they would fight over it, so neither him nor Mark wanted to talk about what would come next. He was busying himself with writing a song for Mark as graduation present and wrote heartwarming lyrics. He also thought hard about an ideal Christmas gift for Mark, which was difficult, but he knew he wanted it to be related to cinema. They spent many hours together watching movies when Mark was still with him in Seoul. Since the day Mark left he has not been in a cinema once. He hated the thought of watching a movie without his boyfriend.

On the other side of the world, Mark was sitting every day in the library, surrounded by books for his research, typing and deleting, citing and quoting, reading and retyping. He had no normal life, he was his own thesis, because that was all he did day in, day out next to a few hours of sleep and eating. Nevertheless, he enjoyed it, because he worked on queer cinema in Korea and he loved his topic, so it kept him going. Through the days in the library, getting a message from JB was always his highlight of the day. JB cheered him on in his own way, often sending silly selfies, artistic photographs, a thoughtful aphorism or comic strip. To Mark he was the best boyfriend in the world and he anticipated their Christmas video chat date that they planned on their anniversary. 

***

In the end, it didn’t turn out as Mark wanted. Because of the time difference JB fell asleep during their anniversary celebration chat and even though the American felt sad about it, he tried not to be too upset. JB had no days off from work in Korea and he was tired because of special projects. Mark felt bad about feeling unhappy, he should know better that JB needed the money and he enjoyed what he was doing despite the long work hours and the unquestioned overtime received by his boss. Instead, he just watched JB through the computer screen and smiled to himself, noticing that JBs hair grew a bit longer and how well it suited him. How could he become even more handsome? Many months had passed since the last time he got to feel, smell and taste him. He missed it. He missed everything. The way JB smiled and the way his big warm hands make him feel. How his body reacted when JB was near, how he cheered up automatically when the Korean was around. They understood each other so well and despite the difficulties to have a normal life as a gay couple in Seoul, he was willing to take on all problems as long as this meant he was able to be with JB. Mark placed his head on his arm and stared at his sleeping boyfriend. A moment later something furry crossed the camera lens – Nora, JBs cat curled up against the sleeping boy’s arm. Mark felt incredibly happy, his chest filled with warmth instantly. JB was not alone, he was in good company and with a content sigh he slowly closed his own, heavy eyelids. Just like this, they slept next to each other.

***

Mark’s defensio went well and he sent hundreds of graduation pictures to JB who was the proudest boyfriend alive, shoving the pictures into every person’s face that crossed his path that day, showing off how smart his friend was. Among his colleagues, friends and family nobody, except Jinyoung and Yugyeom knew that he was in a relationship with a man and for the time being he wanted to keep it that way. He was not ready and he knew well that with Mark in Seoul, he needed to make hard decisions. But these could be made when Mark was by his side and they could fight together for their love and happiness.

He was an only son and was most worried about his parents, less about his friends and his colleagues at work he could ignore, although, most of them were very open-minded. It was after all his private life and he could date whoever he wanted. Since he already led a quiet life, they would not think too much of what he was doing anyway. He just wanted to be with Mark. His chest felt very empty without the Californian and he couldn’t wait for the day Mark would step out of the plane and be in his arms again. Together they could conquer every high tide, master every storm and be together, growing old and enjoying life. Once they were together, they would not be apart again. Ever.


End file.
